"And to think, I called Sonera a lifeless husk."
Ivy sat alone, staring at the wall like a statue. She had run out of tears hours ago. All that was left for her was bitter reflection.
"She died." The heiress muttered to herself. "The girl with no name, and no memories of her own."
"Wind blowing through her dress, a terrified sister, whispers overhead. It was never a dream."
"Wandering this world, taking comfort in a girl she never met. All alone, even as she held her hand."
Ivy sighed, her gaze shifted towards the stars above. She felt at home in the Aerie, no longer haunted by her home. It wasn't hers. The girl who lived there was dead.
"You don't know what it's like," the heiress growled, directing her voice towards a figure in the distance. "Not to know who you are. The echo of torment is all I have now. And I can't even feel it."
"All this time, my anger towards you. Towards Sonera. It's been about me. Her fire. Your innocence. I wanted it."
"Even Lunae is a saddening irony when I think of her. She runs from who she is. But I was too arrogant to even see the monster inside me."
The shadowy figure drew closer, revealing itself to be Lila. Her face reeked of concern and fright, yet Ivy couldn't bear to look at it for longer than a moment. And as the Earthing's fingers clasped around her frigid hand, she found herself prying them off one by one, just as she did before.
"Just...close the door. Forget me."
Lila shook her head, reaching out to Ivy with her mind. "I can't. It's not up to me. I know I can't comfort you now but..."
The heiress cut her off. "I dared to hope. That my heart could open. But I never had one. The Ivy you would have spent the rest of your life with is dead...Lila."
"What?!" Lila gasped. "Don't say that! I'm here for you, Ivy. Nothing has changed!"
Ivy placed a hand to her mouth. She wanted to tell the Earthling. But what remained in her soul couldn't bear to reveal the dreadful truth.
Lila deserved better.
"I'm a lie." Ivy sniffled. "Forget me."
Lila vowed, taking a knee at the bedside. "Never."
"You don't understand-."
"A radiant knight taught me to be brave. To give you my heart, everything that I have. It's not about what I want. This is what I'm meant to do. For you."
Lila bowed her head, mustering the strength to resist the tears. She couldn't even begin to process Ivy's pain. Yet still, she refused to surrender.
"I couldn't protect you."
"Lila." Ivy shifted, nearly looking the girl in the eyes. "My brave little Lila. It's not that."
"But I won't desert you. No matter how much your family haunts you, or how many monsters they send our way. I'll stay at your side."
"I am the monster, Lila!" The heiress screamed, planting her palm over her hand.
"So?" Lila shrugged with a sheepish grin. "I fell in love with one. Sonera's out there kissing some space alien. It happens, no offense to Lunae."
"I'm...glad you can't figure it out." Ivy sighed, rising from her bed as she prepared to leave. "Really...I am. Your stupidity was always a plus."
Lila scampered, attempting to follow her love before a blow on the cheek froze her in place. Her eyes watered, staring at Ivy with disbelief. The heiress finally stared back, wearing a solemn expression.
"Stay away from me," Ivy spoke with a frigid tone, retracting her hand back to her side.
The Earthling looked on in disbelief, falling to the ground as Ivy disappeared beyond the horizon. Her world was shattered. And in one single moment, she was taken back to the night Ivy first struck her.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Lunae stood just outside the Arch-Flayer's office, resting her hand on its surface as she cursed under her breath. Yrix had locked her out. The entire ordeal felt reminiscent in a way, as if her mother's spindly fingers had become entangled in her life once more.
"Sonera." She whimpered. "I'm sorry."
The Infestare princess had always been firm in her belief. A commitment to nonviolence was, beyond a mere protest against her mother, a core aspect of her identity. Yet in that moment, she wished against it.
"Just fight."
"That won't save her."
The voice within her mindscape laughed, staring at her with an identical face. "It will. Kill Yrix. Free Sonera from her desperation."
Lunae scoffed. "And let my mother win?!"
"You said love could win this. And so you gave it a chance. Yet here we are."
"But-."
The princess suddenly gagged, reaching for her own throat as she dangled in the air.
"Her love is the reason behind this madness. You are dooming her. But I can still save Sonera!" The second Lunae screamed with determination.
"Don't pretend you love her!"
"We do." The voice replied, a fragment of her mother's cadence slipping through its tounge.
Lunae gasped for breath, her physical body fighting for air as her Psionic presence became entangled in thorns. This time, she had no counterargument. And without Sonera, she began to lose control.
"Holy shit!" Rena gasped, approaching from behind as she pulled Lunae down. "You okay?!"
Lunae fell to the ground, the spell over her having been broken by the presence of someone trusted. Resting her fingers on her neck, she turned to face Rena with a bashful expression.
"Don't tell Sonera this happened."
"Wait, but-." Rena stammered.
"She can't know."
"Girl, you just got strangled by a ghost!"
Lunae nearly growled, her pupils shifting, "I can handle it."
"You can't! I couldn't either! Didn't we just finish two encounters where the solo deal went to shit?!"
"I'm not alone. I'll...talk to my mother about it. Ask her to give me time."
"What?" Rena scoffed, backing away in disbelief.
"Just don't tell Sonera." Lunae pleaded. "She has enough to worry about."
- - - - - - - - - - -
"I don't care what it costs me." Sonera hissed.
Yrix beamed with pride. "And may I ask where this sudden onset of determination came from?"
"You already know."
"I really want to hear it again."
The Arch-Flayer stood in her workshop, its contents still configured around her dealings with Lila. Within the right corner, however, stood a set of prosthetics, each shaped using materials from the Consortium's foreign planets. It was one of the rare aspects of the Aerie that remained detached from Yrix's commitment to keeping things 'human'.
Sonera stared with a blank expression, folding her arms and tapping her left foot. "If I am to protect those I love. I need your strength."
"This really is just a mission to you now, isn't it?" Yrix giggled. "All my efforts, and a foreign alien from Ivy's dada has gotten you all fixed up?"
The assasin didn't respond.
"Well then." The Arch-Flayer paused, expecting a response. "If you're so determined, then I have some options for you."
The assasin surveyed the workstation closely, taking note of the smaller prosthesis. There was both a set of arms and legs, designed to attach at the knee and elbow, respectively. Each set glimmered with a foreign sheen, captivating Sonera's attention.
"I built them myself." Yrix huffed proudly.
"This is where Lila received her weapon." Sonera mused.
"Indeed."
"Will they make me stronger?"
"Ordinarily, not by much. But these prostheses are not merely wonders of technology. I imbued them with Psionic latency. They will merge with your ambience, growing stronger alongside you. That is, only if you bond with them."
Sonera simply nodded. The cost of wearing such a device barely even registered to her.
"Sonera..." Yrix paused. "I'll have to take your limbs."
"Do it."
"Does your own body mean so little to you?"
Thinking back to her time on Mars, the answer was simple. Sonera didn't mind her wounds during combat, nor the way her body was violated on the market. All that mattered was the people she had placed her heart in.
"Just do it." She cocked her head.
Yrix continued to tease her student. "Lunae won't like it."
Having reached the limits of her patience, Sonera clenched her fist, staring up at the Arch-Flayer with a sinister glower.
"It's what I am. What I always have been. Your weapon."
"How observant." Yrix leaned down, expressing something akin to a smile with her mouthless face. "Did you ever spot me? In your youth...I mean."
Sonera shook her head.
"Ah, but in retrospect, you know."
"How long?" Sonera muttered under her breath.
"Lunae was the only one I hadn't been tracking for years."
"And when I free her from your clutches," Sonera vowed. "She will continue to be unseen."
"Such confidence. You do realize these prosthetics are for Psions of the empire. Typically worn by famed warriors."
Sonera shrugged. "If that's what I have to be for her."
Yrix rolled her eye. "Of course. Love."